Gan-Re answers "Well I want to kill you, but do everything that my friends ask and you get to live”. He keeps his eyes on the snipers and calls out "Come up team. We have found two who want to live"
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Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire
Gan-Re answers "Well I want to kill you, but do everything that my friends ask and you get to live”. He keeps his eyes on the snipers and calls out "Come up team. We have found two who want to live"
(OOC: I assume that Val probably climbed the rope first so that Finley could make it untie itself and coil back up once he reached the top.)
You see Valrieth appear over the edge of the stump, climbing a rope for some reason. (Weren't Finley and Val going to take that lift?)
Once Val makes it high enough, she swings her legs at the top of the rope to make it start swinging back and forth a little. As the rope swings toward the stump, she hops lightly to the stump-top. The Warding Wind still swirls noisily around Val, and even in the daylight, you can the glowing "stars" on her body and eyes. She immediately takes up her shield in her left arm and moves to the center of the stump. She nods once at Gan-Re and then looks around, ready for another ambush.
One of the snipers has a questioning look "What now?" she yells over the deafening wind. Most of it is lost by the sound of the wind, but you get the gist of what she is asking.
Finley cracks his knuckles against his sides and starts climbing up the rope. When he makes it to the top he makes sure to stay away from the wind and keeps his right hand ready at his side to blast either one of the snipers if they try to attack. "Good job, my friend." He nods at Gan-Re and turns back to the prisoners. Fin asks loudly,"Ye won't be botherin' anyone else around Telemy Hill or anywhere else again, aye? Ah cannae stand th' sight of ye, taking instead of creating yer own. What around here is so needed that ye rob whoever? Th' Hags make ye do it?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
(OOC: I'm not sure whether Finley needs to make some sort of climbing skill check.)
Once Finley makes it to the top of the stump, Valrieth lets Gan-Re and Finley deal with the two snipers while she checks for other threats.
Val double-checks in the tents. She's still in her archer starry form, so she should have light to see into the tents assuming that they don't get knocked down by her Warding Wind.
Val takes one tour around the stump, looking down at the swamp and causeways of the Brigands' Tollway in all directions. She's checking for other brigands or any other boats or creatures within sight.
Val finally checks the lift to ensure that it's not on its way to the top of the stump and that there's no one near the lift at the moment.
Finally, if she does not see any additional brigands or any other possible threats, she heads toward Finley and Gan-Re. Hopefully, Finley and Gan-Re have "rounded up" the 2 remaining brigands into one spot. If Finley and Gan-Re haven't already disarmed them, Val signals for them to put down their bows and any other weapons (clubs, daggers, etc.). Once they've done that, Val will finally dismiss her Warding Wind. She'll remain in her starry form until it expires, which should be soon since we're probably nearing the 10 minute mark.
Val turns her glowing eyes on the 2 brigands and says as sternly as she can manage, "We came here to get justice for the goblin Jingle Jangle and the other travelers who were attacked by the brigands who used to follow Agdon Longscarf. I say 'used to follow' because Agdon Longscarf is dead: we have brought an end to the trouble he caused in Hither. Unlike the villain Longscarf, we do not attack simple travelers.
We prefer peace, but we can be a terrible and deadly trio when the situation demands it. We came to this place hoping to talk, but Agdon Longscarf and a group of brigands attacked us as soon as we set foot on the causeway. They showed no mercy, and in defense of our lives, we were forced to kill the entire group of brigands who refused to surrender even after the villain Longscarf was dead. I hope that you have better sense and do not force us to kill you, too.
We need information, and if you are honest and help us, we will not harm you. If you attempt to deceive us or trick us, you will meet the same fate as your former leader ."
We need information, and if you are honest and help us, we will not harm you. If you attempt to deceive us or trick us, you will meet the same fate as your former leader ."
(OOC: Back-and-forth can be slow in PbP, so this is the information Valreith wants.)
How many were in Agdon Lonscarf's gang? (She wants to know how many more they may have to face.)
Is the lift to the top of the stump trapped? (OOC: Of course, Val knows that it is, but it's an easy way to test their honesty.)
If yes, how to operate it safely?
Where do the brigands' keep their ill-gotten treasures and other supplies?
What do they know about the alicorn in Hither?
What do they know about the surrounding locations in Hither?
What's to the west of the Brigands' Tollway?
What's to the north?
What can they tell us about Downfall and the bullywugs who live there?
I see that rope so you know its trapped and no I will not say how it works
Our stash is under the throne
Hither is always changing, but there is Downfall to the west.
Downfall is where Bavlorna lives and the bullywugs are always scheming, but they are polite.
They're clearing holding back some information (such as the lift), but does Valrieth think that they're lying about anything that they've actually said? Insight13
Finley has his rope return to his hands and then uses it to tie the wrists and legs of the captives while they're sitting down so that they cannot move. His helmet opens and retracts into the armor. "Ah need a short break ah think."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
"20, oh well. It's not like my axe runs out of charges or anything. Are the rest here or are they someone else? Now if you are going to live, can you give us your word, bound by your name, that you will leave this area, go somewhere else and never bother us again." Gan-Re has no idea if Fey are bound by their names, but that sounds like something from a story so it is probably worth a go.
He turns Val "Do you want to check the Throne for traps. I can probably handle them if you find any"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire
He turns Val "Do you want to check the Throne for traps. I can probably handle them if you find any"
"Yes, I can check, but maybe one of you could help?", suggest Valrieth.
"And we should probably do something about the lift. Since Finley and I didn't use it, the lift is still down at the causeways. If more of the brigands return while we're not watching, they could ride up the lift and appear up here suddenly and without warning."
Now that they're not deafened by her Warding Wind, Val explains that it looks like the lift is trapped. It looks like the floor can open, and the lever that operates the lift can flipped like a normal level but also pressed in. She's not sure, but since flipping the switch is more obvious, her intuition says that an intruder would operate the lift by flipping the lever, and the lift probably rises up 30 ft. but then the floor opens like a trap door and drops the intruders to the ground. When the brigands use the lift, they probably press the level instead of flipping it.
But she's not sure, which is why she and Finley just climbed the rope. Maybe Gan-Re could go down and ride the lift up? That way, in case she's wrong, when the floor opens, he'll be expecting it and can just fly away.
Or maybe she's completely wrong and Finley should go back down and do some investigation of how the lever and trap actually works before they bring it up to the stump?
Or maybe they should just disable the lift entirely? If the Trio can climb down (or have Gan-Re air lift them away), they don't need to use it to get down. So, the lift currently only benefits the other brigands who may return at any time.
Once they decide what to do with the lift, Val asks
Once they decide what to do about the lift, Val takes out her star chart and prays again for guidance in her own effort. Presumably, one of the others will [action]help[/help] Val look at the throne. They need to figure out how to move the throne or open it to reveal the vault beneath it, and they also need to look for traps because...well, obviously.
(OOC: I'm going to assume that one of the other two helps Val, so rolling with advantage.)
(OOC: Sorry. I tried to fix a typo, but I forgot that editing the post freaks out the dice roller. The tooltip still shows that the original result was 27.
1d20.advantage() + 5 + 1d4 = 19 + 6 + 5 + 3 = 27
No idea whether that will change when you view it.)
Finley does help Valrieth and afterwards walks over to where the lift would rise up to see if there's a way to disable it from up here by looking at the gears/rope/counterweights or whatever they may be using.
"Gan-Re, could ye move th' boat around back so we can make a quick escape if necessary? We can let ye know if someone is coming and ah should be able to cover ye from up here."
One of the snipers says "This is our home, I doubt you will live here permanently so no we are going nowhere and once the others come back you will be ousted from our home. So take what you want and begone"
They snipers lower their bows "Damn, well what do you want?"
Gan-Re answers "Well I want to kill you, but do everything that my friends ask and you get to live”. He keeps his eyes on the snipers and calls out "Come up team. We have found two who want to live"
Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire
(OOC: like last time, can we still use either Athletics or Acrobatics to climb the rope?)
Valrieth's skill check (with advantage): 18, either adjust by +2 for Acrobatics or by -1 if she has to use Athletics
(OOC: I assume that Val probably climbed the rope first so that Finley could make it untie itself and coil back up once he reached the top.)
You see Valrieth appear over the edge of the stump, climbing a rope for some reason. (Weren't Finley and Val going to take that lift?)
Once Val makes it high enough, she swings her legs at the top of the rope to make it start swinging back and forth a little. As the rope swings toward the stump, she hops lightly to the stump-top. The Warding Wind still swirls noisily around Val, and even in the daylight, you can the glowing "stars" on her body and eyes. She immediately takes up her shield in her left arm and moves to the center of the stump. She nods once at Gan-Re and then looks around, ready for another ambush.
One of the snipers has a questioning look "What now?" she yells over the deafening wind. Most of it is lost by the sound of the wind, but you get the gist of what she is asking.
Finley cracks his knuckles against his sides and starts climbing up the rope. When he makes it to the top he makes sure to stay away from the wind and keeps his right hand ready at his side to blast either one of the snipers if they try to attack. "Good job, my friend." He nods at Gan-Re and turns back to the prisoners. Fin asks loudly,"Ye won't be botherin' anyone else around Telemy Hill or anywhere else again, aye? Ah cannae stand th' sight of ye, taking instead of creating yer own. What around here is so needed that ye rob whoever? Th' Hags make ye do it?"
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
(OOC: I'm not sure whether Finley needs to make some sort of climbing skill check.)
Once Finley makes it to the top of the stump, Valrieth lets Gan-Re and Finley deal with the two snipers while she checks for other threats.
Perception 23
Finally, if she does not see any additional brigands or any other possible threats, she heads toward Finley and Gan-Re. Hopefully, Finley and Gan-Re have "rounded up" the 2 remaining brigands into one spot. If Finley and Gan-Re haven't already disarmed them, Val signals for them to put down their bows and any other weapons (clubs, daggers, etc.). Once they've done that, Val will finally dismiss her Warding Wind. She'll remain in her starry form until it expires, which should be soon since we're probably nearing the 10 minute mark.
Val turns her glowing eyes on the 2 brigands and says as sternly as she can manage, "We came here to get justice for the goblin Jingle Jangle and the other travelers who were attacked by the brigands who used to follow Agdon Longscarf. I say 'used to follow' because Agdon Longscarf is dead: we have brought an end to the trouble he caused in Hither. Unlike the villain Longscarf, we do not attack simple travelers.
We prefer peace, but we can be a terrible and deadly trio when the situation demands it. We came to this place hoping to talk, but Agdon Longscarf and a group of brigands attacked us as soon as we set foot on the causeway. They showed no mercy, and in defense of our lives, we were forced to kill the entire group of brigands who refused to surrender even after the villain Longscarf was dead. I hope that you have better sense and do not force us to kill you, too.
We need information, and if you are honest and help us, we will not harm you. If you attempt to deceive us or trick us, you will meet the same fate as your former leader ."
(OOC: Back-and-forth can be slow in PbP, so this is the information Valreith wants.)
They're clearing holding back some information (such as the lift), but does Valrieth think that they're lying about anything that they've actually said? Insight 13
You get the sense they are speaking the truth.
Finley has his rope return to his hands and then uses it to tie the wrists and legs of the captives while they're sitting down so that they cannot move. His helmet opens and retracts into the armor. "Ah need a short break ah think."
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
"20, oh well. It's not like my axe runs out of charges or anything. Are the rest here or are they someone else? Now if you are going to live, can you give us your word, bound by your name, that you will leave this area, go somewhere else and never bother us again." Gan-Re has no idea if Fey are bound by their names, but that sounds like something from a story so it is probably worth a go.
He turns Val "Do you want to check the Throne for traps. I can probably handle them if you find any"
Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire
At the mention of 20 brigands, Valrieth looks to Finley and Gan-Re, wide-eyed, and gives a grim nod, indicating that she believes them.
"Yes, I can check, but maybe one of you could help?", suggest Valrieth.
"And we should probably do something about the lift. Since Finley and I didn't use it, the lift is still down at the causeways. If more of the brigands return while we're not watching, they could ride up the lift and appear up here suddenly and without warning."
Now that they're not deafened by her Warding Wind, Val explains that it looks like the lift is trapped. It looks like the floor can open, and the lever that operates the lift can flipped like a normal level but also pressed in. She's not sure, but since flipping the switch is more obvious, her intuition says that an intruder would operate the lift by flipping the lever, and the lift probably rises up 30 ft. but then the floor opens like a trap door and drops the intruders to the ground. When the brigands use the lift, they probably press the level instead of flipping it.
But she's not sure, which is why she and Finley just climbed the rope. Maybe Gan-Re could go down and ride the lift up? That way, in case she's wrong, when the floor opens, he'll be expecting it and can just fly away.
Or maybe she's completely wrong and Finley should go back down and do some investigation of how the lever and trap actually works before they bring it up to the stump?
Or maybe they should just disable the lift entirely? If the Trio can climb down (or have Gan-Re air lift them away), they don't need to use it to get down. So, the lift currently only benefits the other brigands who may return at any time.
Once they decide what to do with the lift, Val asks
Once they decide what to do about the lift, Val takes out her star chart and prays again for guidance in her own effort. Presumably, one of the others will [action]help[/help] Val look at the throne. They need to figure out how to move the throne or open it to reveal the vault beneath it, and they also need to look for traps because...well, obviously.
(OOC: I'm going to assume that one of the other two helps Val, so rolling with advantage.)
Perception 26, including the Guidance bonus
(OOC: Sorry. I tried to fix a typo, but I forgot that editing the post freaks out the dice roller. The tooltip still shows that the original result was 27.
1d20.advantage() + 5 + 1d4 = 19
+ 6+ 5 + 3 = 27No idea whether that will change when you view it.)
"I'll help Val. Finley can kill these two as easily as I can. Just leave me the meat if you do Finley. I'm still hungry"Retcon: "Finley can you help Val"
Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire
Finley does help Valrieth and afterwards walks over to where the lift would rise up to see if there's a way to disable it from up here by looking at the gears/rope/counterweights or whatever they may be using.
"Gan-Re, could ye move th' boat around back so we can make a quick escape if necessary? We can let ye know if someone is coming and ah should be able to cover ye from up here."
Investigation: 16
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Yes everyone can take a short rest
One of the snipers says "This is our home, I doubt you will live here permanently so no we are going nowhere and once the others come back you will be ousted from our home. So take what you want and begone"
With that perception you notice a mechanical trap with cleverly hidden thin wires at the bottom of the throne.
Someone could use thieves tools to disarm the trap. DC 15
Finley after your investigation you surmise you can jam up the gears of the lift or cut the cables